If you regularly send the same quote request to several vendors, you know how much time it takes to create each quote separately and make sure you are asking every vendor the same question. In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you can send the same purchase quote to multiple vendors at once using the requisition worksheet or the planning worksheet.
You start by marking the item lines you want a quote on. You then use the handling journal to generate a purchase quote and send the request by email to each vendor. After handling a line, you can choose to keep it in the requisition worksheet so you can reuse it for the next vendor, or delete it once you are done. This lets you ask several vendors for a quote on the same items without retyping anything, and all the created quotes end up under your purchase quotes for review.
Sending the same purchase quote to multiple vendors in Business Central
When you work with purchase order management, sending an identical quote request to many vendors is a common but time-consuming task. You have to create each quote, and you have to be sure you are asking every vendor exactly the same thing. Business Central handles this through the requisition worksheet or the planning worksheet.
In a typical example, you mark the lines you want a quote on. Say you have two lines, a chain wheel and a socket, and you want to ask vendor 51 for a quote on both.
Using the handling journal to create and send the quote
From the worksheet you go to the handling journal and choose to create the quote and send the mail. This creates a purchase quote for the vendor and prepares an email you can send directly.
During this process, Business Central asks whether the lines should be deleted after handling. If you answer no, the lines stay in your requisition worksheet. That way you can add the next vendor and repeat the same step without re-entering the items.
Repeating the request for each vendor
Because the lines remain in the worksheet, you simply add another vendor and run the handling journal again. Business Central creates an email and a purchase quote for that vendor with the same lines.
On the last vendor, you can choose to delete the lines after handling, so they are removed from the requisition worksheet once you are finished.
Reviewing the created purchase quotes
When you go to your purchase quotes afterwards, you see the new quotes listed, each containing the same two lines you marked. In the example above, three new purchase quotes are created, one per vendor.
This gives you a straightforward way to send the same purchase quote to different vendors, with the same items and the same question, without doing the work three times over.
Q&A
How do you send the same purchase quote to multiple vendors in Business Central?
Use the requisition worksheet or the planning worksheet. Mark the lines you want a quote on, then use the handling journal to create the quote and send the mail. Repeat the step for each vendor.
How do you reuse the same lines for several vendors?
When the handling journal asks whether the lines should be deleted after handling, answer no. The lines stay in the requisition worksheet, so you can add the next vendor and run the handling journal again with the same items.
What happens to the lines when you finish sending quotes to all vendors?
On the last vendor you can choose to delete the lines after handling, which removes them from the requisition worksheet. The created purchase quotes remain available under your purchase quotes for review.